


no grand choirs

by caesarions



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Ancient China, Ancient Rome, F/F, Gift Giving, Long-Distance Relationship, Love Letters, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nyotalia, Sister-Sister Relationship, Useless Lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 05:04:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15856767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caesarions/pseuds/caesarions
Summary: Though it is seen as wrong to envy someone’s happiness, especially a family member’s, it is often understandable—especially in romantic pursuits. But who is to say the ladies cannot achieve love for themselves? Against all odds, the feminine aspects of Rome and China are about to try.This fic takes place during ài de lǐwù, where China travels to Rome for the first time. He soon becomes the wingman of the century.





	no grand choirs

**Author's Note:**

> this was written for the Hetalia Writers' Discord OTP event! the prompts from the event chosen for this chapter were "Firsts" + "We'll stay together, no matter what happens.”
> 
> DISCLAIMER: to make nyotalia into something more historical and productive, my nationverse operates under the assumption that the "male" and "female" nations exist simultaneously. this allows me to include much more women in my stories and explore all sides of history (and... lesbians). i also use them to cover more ground/people groups within a nation because they represent slightly different things, such as the roman city vs. empire and northern vs. southern china. i usually make them siblings, but they don't have to be! each pair chooses their own relation. sometimes, they don't even get along. it's all on a case by case basis, along with how much they care about their "male/"female" identities. the woman's power/role also changes by the culture because i enjoy balancing their nonhuman and human aspects. how much do they have to obey conventions? that is the challenge. all of these principles will be explored in the fic!
> 
> NAMES: 
> 
> ancient egypt - sekhet (one who is powerful)
> 
> male ancient egypt - neferma'at (with perfect justice)
> 
> ancient greece - helen (shining bright)
> 
> carthage - anysus barca (lost to history, lightning)
> 
> female carthage - ayzebel barca (lost to history, lightning)
> 
> china - wang min (clever king)
> 
> female china - fan yaling (example; elegant/graceful, tinkling of jade)
> 
> female etruria - arria repesuna (lost to history, lost to history)
> 
> germania - alaric (ruler of all)
> 
> female germania - adalheidis (noble-natured)
> 
> persia - ardashir (one whose reign is based on honesty and justice)
> 
> rome - lucius marius priscus romulus (shining; of mars or masculine; ancient; the mythical founder, 'mr. rome')
> 
> female rome - maria (feminine version of romulus' nomen, their family name)

**210 AD, Rome, Lazio**

* * *

_Maria S.P.D.,_

_I desperately hope this letter finds you in good health. You will encounter it by the hands of your brother, who has promised me he will deliver it himself. Min also assured me that we were both literate. I think that is wonderful! Though my lower classes cannot find time for education, and my upper classes only go so far, I am lucky. My twin brother moves in wealthy circles. He tells me it is all politics, as if I would not know he also keeps lonely old men company. Anyway! You will have to tell me about your own experiences in education._

_Since we can communicate, I find it silly to think we have not interacted yet. You can call me Maria! I have included my most recent bust (along with other gifts!) for reference. It was sculpted in the Antonine dynasty, so… please excuse the hair! I have no idea what we were thinking back then. You must also share your worst fashion moments in your (quite long!) history._

_While our brothers write of such frivolous things, such as comparing their governments, I would much rather find out about you as a person. Min is very vague when describing you—is there tension? It is alright, for I know Sekhet and Neferma’at can never see eye to eye. It is not my place to inquire yet, but I think he should be singing high praises. Either way, let me hear of your personality from your own lips (or ink!) so that I may know the truth. What are your interests and hobbies? What is your daily life like? It seems like that daily life is all we women are left, so it is what we know best. The joke is on the men—it makes us the true gatekeepers of history, and one day, we will leave them out of it._

_Ave, atque vale._

  
Somewhere along borrowing her brother’s study, she had turned as neurotic as him, too. Maria checked over her first letter to Yaling over and over again. Would it be translated correctly? Would the jokes even find their equivalent in the Eastern language? No, she should have left them out. This was no laughing matter.

In fact, it was a desperate attempt—and not her first.

Seeing the mess their brothers had made of themselves, Adalheidis decided to keep their relationship strictly formal. They did not need this to turn into one of Seneca’s tragedies. The pay was not high enough for the German siblings’ emotional labor and babysitting, even for Germans, who only valued a good hut and no other earthly possessions. For now, Adalheidis remained as Maria’s personal bodyguard and nothing more.

For now.

Helen and Sekhet were both centuries—perhaps even millenniums—Maria’s senior. There was no point in even trying. Though the wise matriarchs’ opinion of Romulus as a boyish nuisance did not extend to Maria, there was no denying she equally as young. Instead, since Maria posed them no threat as she just represented the city, they viewed her as a little sister. Even now, she felt the ghostly touch of them pinching her cheeks.

A strange, feral creature, but a little sister nonetheless.

As for Maria’s actual older sister—well. Some of the female representatives Maria had known were not of this lifetime anymore. Arria, who had raised Maria in her own image, had passed along all of her Etruscan traditions. If Maria brought out her very first bust, no doubt it would come with a catharsis. How much did she look like Arria now, as old as the other was during the height of the Etruscans?

How much of her older sister inside her had she gotten rid of?

The other woman that had left this world was Ayzebel. Maria had not much to say about the Carthaginian. While Arria had lived, she and Ayzebel formed an impenetrable, sacred shield of femininity. Maria was not privy to the details of their relationship, and most definitely not welcome to intrude upon it. It was just like how Helen and Sekhet’s hushed relationship shut her out now. Both pairs of women had stumbled upon their other within decades of being born. It had been centuries for Maria.

Truth be told, Maria was lonely.

A knock at the door brought the Roman woman out of her deep ponderings. When she swiveled around in her stool, there Min stood, leaning dramatically against the doorway.

“Greetings, Maria. How is the letter coming?”

When Romulus was attending to business, it was Maria’s job to keep their foreign guest occupied. She left her own _domus_ for Romulus’ so Min didn’t have to wander the city alone. It was not the safest of ventures.

Maria herself was confined to the city, and sometimes even to her _domus_ if the danger level was high enough. Another source that decided her fate for her were the whims of the leaders. Luckily, female affairs seemed to steadily improve after the death of Augustus, but any progress could be taken away in just an instant.

Both contributors only added to her loneliness. Sometimes, Maria wished she could ride a horse all over Tellus’ domain and disappear into the forest as Adalheidis did.

She relished any chance to leave her _domus_ , since the chance had been taken away before. Though she did not particularly understand Min or her brother’s obsession with him, she would entertain him for human interaction with anyone at all. Min would speak with her because his beloved Romulus was busy. They were both means to an end, as most representative relationships were. What end Min was using her brother for, Maria couldn’t tell.

“Oh, I think I’m done,” Maria tittered nervously. “You’re sure it will be translated correctly?”

“Well, I do not speak the bastard middle language,” Min huffed. For centuries, the men’s letters had been translated from Latin, to Persian, to Chinese and vice versa. But when they spoke of Ardashir, it was as if his fiendish presence manifested in the room. “But I have my own men who will gladly and thoroughly complete the work.”

“Sure,” Maria’s lips twisted wryly. She stared at her marble reflection, plus a mountain of curls sitting atop her forehead, on the desk. “Do you think the bust is too much for our first time?” She had written a vague _other gifts_ because she did not know what yet. When Romulus returned from his Senate meeting, they would all go shopping for Yaling together.

“Surely not,” Min assured her, although his face betrayed him with lips pursed in amusement. “Either way, she needs to know what you look like. If Romulus had been ugly, I wouldn’t have incentive to write back, much less travel across the world to meet him in person for the first time.”

“Surely you have low standards,” Maria jested on behalf of her brother. “And can’t people just lie? The Republicans are rolling in their graves as I say this, but it’s becoming more common to exaggerate and idealize features. Our emperors are all deified now, you know.”

Min sighed dramatically. “They do all too often. There is a legend about it, actually. Wang Zhaojun refused to bribe the court painter to make her portrait prettier, so he painted her hideously in retribution. Once presented with the portraits to choose his wives from, the emperor, simple-minded as all emperors are, did not look into this obvious discrepancy. He missed out on a great beauty.”

The Roman woman’s lips twisted into a smirk. “Is this legend auto-biographical, or—?”

“No! We just have the same lineage name!” Min gasped moved across the room to playfully hit Maria on the arm. She punched him in the stomach in return. Wheezing, he continued, “Besides, the emperor gave her to a Xiongnu chief, since he thought she was so ugly. He realized his mistake too late, as we all do. Even if she was the favorite and treated with distinction, I would never fraternize with a barbarian.”

“But again," Maria raised her eyebrows, “you will sleep with my brother?” She did not forget his little quip of _as we all do_ —what mistakes could this fearless empire have made? What about Romulus’ own?

Lacking shame, Min laughed heartily. “Yes, I will. Many times over. He is my only equal in this world, after all.”

“...And would I be your sister’s equal?” she asked, tensed on the edge of the stool.

“You two are our counterparts, so I would imagine.” The Chinese man beckoned with a thin, white arm. “Come, let us walk.”

Eager to learn more, Maria hopped up—but she couldn’t be too eager. She straightened her back and walked imperiously, as Min did. As if they were above everyone—but there was no else in the room to be above, Maria thought.

“Keep telling me more about your counterpart,” Maria insisted softly before probing at the subject Min always avoided. First, she would just refer to Romulus as her brother. “What is your relationship?”

Min _uh_ and _um_ ’d and shrugged as they entered into the atrium. It took the strange pair the length of the grandiose room for Min to even form a response. “Well, we are brother and sister. I have not yet seen a representative pair that is not.”

“...Neither have I,” Maria said while squinting. Min crumbled under the weight of her gaze, as most men did.

“Okay, yes,” Min mumbled as they entered the peristyle. He cleared his throat. “It did not come across in the letters, but upon further observation, you and Romulus might be a little bit closer. You consider yourself twins, yes?”

“I think anyone who saw us together would, too,” Maria huffed.

When Min stared blankly at the humor, Maria pursed her lips. She put on her Marcus Aurelius beard and went into philosopher mode. “Well, we appeared at the same time, probably because we were just a city. Even now that Romulus is always away handling imperial affairs, I feel more connected to him than ever. The politics of his domain reflect my own.” Min still only stared at her. “...It’s kind of a specifically Roman concept. You might not understand.”

“I cannot say I do,” Min mumbled. “And you two do not understand how we change capital cities with the winds.”

“Oh, no, I do. It’s just a terrifying thought!” Maria put a hand over her heart, her home. Despite what either of the Roman twins represented now, where would they be without the original city? Without all of its beautiful faults, the extraordinary tragedies it witnessed? “I thought all empires grew around a great city. Even the Carthaginian Empire sprouted from the city itself.”

“Not in the East, I suppose,” the Chinese man mumbled vaguely.

Whatever information Romulus had shared with him about Carthage, it had probably not included Ayzebel. Maria’s information would not include Anysus. The representatives of the same sex mostly kept to themselves; however, that was not enforced by any means, and subject to change by the dynasty and nation. No matter who it was, their people seemed to care about all of these identity politics more than they did, at least starting out. But, their humans’ opinions couldn’t help but encroach on their impressionable minds.

Maria remembered Ayzebel in wisps of smoke. A glance of her owlish face, a fleeting emotion. Ayzebel didn’t fight in the wars like Anysus did. Even if she wasn’t a woman, her domain—the city, just like Maria—didn’t support the Barcids' silly revenge campaign. Although she admired the other’s logical neutrality, since Hannibal had almost besieged her walls, Maria couldn’t remain as uninvolved.

Ayzebel was another relationship that hadn’t worked. Though they did not have the hatred of their brothers, they never had any chance of getting along. No one wanted them to, not even themselves. Even Maria, in her infinite loneliness, was influenced too much by her people’s anger, born from fear, born from the fires of near destruction. She was a little jealous, too. The two women were equal in all but one thing: their position in their societies.

Sometimes, Maria thought that she caught sight of Ayzebel giving her a look of pity. Whether pity for a friend or for a wounded animal, Maria knew not.

“Are you quite done?”

Only once Maria blinked did she realize where she was again. She was not standing on Ayzebel’s balcony, staring wistfully into the sea, as their brothers fought in the tribunal. But she _was_ staring into the courtyard’s fountain. Water was still the Carthaginians’ domain, even in death.

“Oh, yes, sorry,” Maria mumbled.

She directed Min so that they could sit on the couches surrounding the center fountain and talk. Immediately flopping down onto the cushions, Min sighed dramatically. “I did need such a rest after that walk.”

Well, Maria would give it to Min that he had a sense of humor—even if it was sickly and self-centered. That was something sorely lacking in her brother’s relationship with Alaric. She claimed the couch across from Min and sat up straight.

“This is a good place to talk, as I’m sure you’re aware.” The Roman woman offered a placating smile. “Business happens in the atrium, and secrets hide in the peristyle.”

Min was obviously not blushing, but he fanned himself anyway. “Oh, I know all too well.”

“...I’m sure you do.” Maria’s face curdled. She desperately hoped that exchange would be lost in the emerald leaves. “Anyway… could you tell me more about what your sister likes? It’ll help me pick out the gifts later today.”

It was only a white lie. If they were already using each other as means to an end, Maria might as well use him to the fullest extent. She would lead him down idyllic green pastures and into the chasm of her first, most important question.

“Good idea. We all look best in certain styles, and there is no shame in that,” Min put his hands up. Then, he rubbed his face as if he had a mustache. It took so much rubbing to produce a thought, apparently. “She looks quite nice in red and gold. Oh, and jade.”

Leaning back into the cushions, Maria raised her eyebrows. “You just listed all of the colors that people associate with China.”

“Not true!” Min huffed and flushed his own signature shade. “At least, the jade is especially important to her. The second character in Ya _ling_ means _tinkling of jade_.”

“...Which is merely a rumor on the Roman market,” she reminded the other politely. Except for Romulus, who had been given a jade pendant (among other gifts) by none other than Min himself.

And where were Maria’s presents?

“True enough. That is something I would probably have her send back. But the point still stands that she looks good in green and… a delicate red, let us say.” Min twirled his hair around a bony finger as he pontificated.

In Apollo’s sunlight, Maria could more clearly see the outline of his body. As he revealed all truths, the arrows of honey pierced through the thin silk robe, showing his frame. He really was such a skinny man. Anysus was skinny, too, but he built muscle throughout the years. What was Min’s empire based around, if not a war, if not a city?

Maria nodded along politely. “Do the delicate colors reflect her personality?”

“Oh, they try,” Min chuckled to himself. “Just like our officials, they try. But everyone knows she is even stronger than I.”

“Oh?” Her eyebrows were still raised. Min was inadvertently fanning the flames of a crush. “Physically or mentally?”

“Both, of course! I think it is always that way,” Min sighed dramatically. “Not that I mind, of course. It actually puts her into some worse situations.”

Now that Maria had her first crush, Yaling was already in danger. “What do you mean?”

“Most recently, during the Warring States…” Min sat up slowly before continuing, and Maria met only dead eyes. If he was lost and confused in a hyperealistic nightmare, she was sorry, but she couldn’t tell. She could only tell with her brother, having memorized what topics triggered a flashback. Likely each empire came with their own special set of baggage.

“My apologies,” Min mumbled as he flickered back to life. The light returned to his eyes, and he flipped his hair as if nothing had happened. “The government died a slow death that particular dynasty. I wanted out. When they switched capitals, I, their precious propaganda tool, snuck away under the cover of night. Yaling does not have such freedom of movement, or I would have taken her with me. Selfishly, she dealt with the royal family’s mess as I drank myself into ditches with young men from all across our land.”

Putting a hand over her chest, Maria thought that maybe she and Yaling could learn how to ride a horse together.

“Of course, I sell myself short,” Min continued. “I also helped our people that were suffering from natural disasters. The new government eventually found me because tales spread of a very brave youth—but the only one who did not wither in the famine.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Did you go back with the new government willingly?” Maria asked. She happily skipped over his self-inflated account.

Min held his flood of secrets back. He smiled, disgusted and wryly. “You could say that.”

It was a story for another time—or never. Maria probably couldn’t wrap her head around a foreign empire’s politics if she couldn’t even comprehend her own. “And I’m sorry you were separated for that long. Was that the first time?”

“...Not technically,” Min shrugged. He returned to a reclining position. His hair spilled over the arm of the couch like a waterfall of oil. “Neither of us know how we were born. The officials decided that I better fit their narrative because I already felt more aligned with the North. I do remember drowning in the _Huang He_ , but I do not remember any of these grand, godly emperors they claim.”

“What about Ya? If I— may call her that,” Maria mumbled. Origin stories were no strangers to the Romans, so she sympathized with the misconstrued memories.

“You may. I even call her Yaya,” Min laughed heartily. Almost as immediately, his face stilled as ice. “I don’t know about Ya. Her heart lies with the South, and I suppose the officials have not considered her people in the narrative yet.”

Her letter had been strangely prophetic. This really was a situation akin to the divide between Upper and Lower Egypt. Most considered them rare situations, but when separation happened, it could be deadly. Maria shuddered under the weight of considering what would have happened if she and Romulus had been on opposite sides of their civil wars.

It would have torn her heart to shreds.

Maria licked her lips nervously. She would rescue her crush from this man if she had to. “Do you wish her any ill will?”

“Not yet,” Min said, plain and honest. “No such separation of hers or mine has happened this dynasty. But there is no telling what may happen in our future. Time together can actually be detrimental, and time apart can be beneficial. The distance between me and Romulus is what piqued my interest. Because we are so far apart, our empires can have no problems.”

He had climbed out of the chasm, avoiding the subject, but Maria would allow him. She grinned giddily as she pictured her and Yaling in the same perfect arrangement. “And how does it affect you and your sister as people?”

“We do get along,” Min promised with his own smile, “but we are different people.”

“I think we all must be,” Maria mused. She took a gulping breath of air as the late morning atmosphere burned around them. The conversation would take quite a turn.

“We can die in different ways.”

Min looked surprised, perhaps for the first time in his life. “How do you know that?”

“Well, my twin brother explained Carthage to you. They died on different days, in different ways.” The wisps of smoke returned. “Anysus gave up on life very quickly during the siege. Romulus killed him within the first day. But Ayzebel,” Maria gulped, “would not give him the satisfaction. She holed up with the survivors and threw herself off of the Temple of Eshmun on the final day.”

She could have dived deep into the politics of how, perhaps, Anysus gave up sooner because he also grew to represent the empire and Ayzebel the city. But no one would be happy: Romulus did not like to compare himself with the first man that he killed, and Maria did not like to think about the possibility that they could die at different times.

And Min just never really had any idea what was going on.

The aforementioned Chinese man hummed, accompanying the buzzing bugs. He looked away. “...Did you ever consider that he could be lying about that last part to spare your feelings?”

She had. It had taken decades to finally acknowledge the possibility. Sighing, Maria whispered, “No. Gods, no.”

At the same time, Min and Maria said, “He’s a terrible liar.”

They both broke into a thundering guffaw. Leaning closer on their couches, the morbid atmosphere of earlier melted away. They continued laughing and swapping stories about Romulus’ stupidities for what felt like hours.

A final voice joined the fray; Lupa, Romulus’ beloved pet dog, began barking in the atrium. That only ever meant that Romulus was home. Since they were having too much fun, the odd pair decided to let Romulus come to them.

It took him a few moments to waddle into the courtyard, preceded by the faithful Lupa. Romulus appeared, sweating from the heavy _toga virilis_ and curls puffy from humidity. Hairstyles that protected her own curls were the best part of being a woman.

“You’re late!” Min huffed, greeting him first. He swung to his feet and smiled. “The Senate meetings are usually over at least an hour ago.”

“Not this one, I promise,” Romulus mumbled, turning red in the ears.

Min pointed to Romulus’ arms folded behind him. “What are you holding behind your back?”

"Nothing!" Romulus gaped like a fish about to made into garum. Min and Maria looked at each other. They covered their mouths with their hands and broke into another laughing fit.

Romulus repeated in befuddlement, “What? What?” for a few minutes before Min lunged. They wrestled playfully until Min could see whatever love gift Romulus had found on his walk home.

“Another hairpin!” she heard Min squeal. “You overestimate how many pins one man can u— actually, this is really cute.”

Romulus tried to further defend his decision, but Min besieged him with kisses on the cheek until he couldn’t speak. After a bunch of gleeful giggling, Romulus’ only move was to scoop Min up and kiss him more fiercely in return.

Maria smiled with melancholy. She really didn’t mind adding a second person to the list of Romulus’ only weaknesses.

As long as she eventually found her own, too.

  
_亲爱的Maria,_

_I am extremely well! I hope you may still say the same. Min delivered your letter safe and sound, and he even expounded upon the things you talked about with him. I hope he did not bother you too much! Like your own brother, Min can be a bit… much. He often calls me Yaya to annoy me. You can if you wish, though! It is kind of cute. I write so much about this because I have little to say of women’s education. Besides homemaking, any education is entirely optional, but it is becoming more common. Half of the politicians’ essays I read are actually written by their wives. The laziness is abound!_

_I think your bust is extremely cute—even the hair! I feel quite plain in comparison, but I have included a court painting anyway. I hope you think I am cute, too, or else I will wither away from unrequited love. And thank you for the other gifts, too. I will have no such bad fashion moments with this matching jewelry set you have sent me. The glass and amber is so beautiful; we have nothing like it over here. In return, I had a craftsman form the very same set out of jade, so that we might match. But if I had to choose, I hesitate to remember early dynasties' hanfu with no shape that made me look like a fat slug._

_Min had to explain who Sekhet and Neferma’at are, but I understand the comparison. I do not know if we choose our own divisions. Min does not know me well, but he does not know anyone well. I would describe myself as loyal, sensitive, and practically happy. Min has been trying to teach me his instruments, but I still like singing the most. I hope to think that I am good at painting, so I have included a piece I did of your bust! I hope you like it. It took a while to complete because my days are so busy. I would have no chores, were it not for the men in my life. Maria, I am sure you can sympathize, and I desperately need a listening ear like that in my life. We'll stay together, no matter what happens._

_您的, 范雅玲._


End file.
